


Siren Song

by vegalocity



Series: Oblivion [1]
Category: LEGO Monkie Kid
Genre: Ambiguous by design, Brainwashed POV character, Darkfic, Hypnosis, M/M, Mind Control, Mixtape, Nonlinear narritive, Porty MK - Freeform, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:21:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29507529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vegalocity/pseuds/vegalocity
Summary: Red Son went into the Antigrav Dance Club with a goal in mindAnd came out with a new way to spend his evenings
Relationships: Qi Xiaotian | MK/Red Son
Series: Oblivion [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179788
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	Siren Song

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been needing a quick break from Flooding the Sky so i decided to do a couple of full oneshots based on some [Title Game Fillouts](https://vegalocity.tumblr.com/post/642586240801193984/siren-song-for-a-spicynoodleshippingmixtape) I had a little bit ago, and so here we are
> 
> Shoutout to the anon that sent me that title for the game! this is all thanks to you dude!

That first night was kind of hard to remember. All faded and worn at the edges, and most days he didn't even really want to look back on it, what was the point? It happened, it jumpstarted all of this, but who cared? But there were days, when he found the dreariness of the day-to-day wearing him down and he was looking forward to what was waiting for him once the sun went down, that he sort of liked ruminating on that first night.

Oh how naive he'd been, thinking he had to threaten the guard to let him inside the dance club, storming through the building without a second glance to anything, and causing a big dramatic scene at the very edge between the antigravity dance mat and the DJ table, demanding a fight out of Xiaotian now that he'd tracked him down. 

Really he was so lucky that Xiaotian had his taste in music pegged from the start, How he'd just glanced at him over his sunglasses and smirked before flipping a record onto the turntable and putting on what would soon become his absolute favorite song.

The thrumming bass was rattling around in his brain the second it hit his ears and a wonderful, euphoric, fuzzyness flooded through him. It was such a beautiful song he'd immediately forgotten what he'd even been doing here, and the melody washed away all that firey determination driving him to fight and leaving him so empty. So hollow. He loved that part the best now. To just stop feeling so high strung and stressed out all the time and just be... nothing... instead. He'd never realized how tense he always was until he'd finally started letting loose. 

But then Xiaotian had descended from his perch and took his hand in his own, and-...oh... he was such a fool for wasting so much time daydreaming about those gentle hands before that moment, because the second Xiaotian began to speak it felt like their linked hands was a guiding point. Anchoring him to the other man, so he wouldn't drift away. 

He'd guided him to a comfortable looking seat-

_“Sit down Red Son, Relax, enjoy the music.”_

-and of course he had to sit down in it. Anything else would be out of the question. 

Some stupid, stubborn part of his mind was trying to take him out of the moment, insisting that this wasn't what he'd come here to do. And maybe that was true, but at the time he couldn't quite remember what he came here to do anyway. He was comfortable where he was, it was so easy to practically melt into the cushions, the lovely song still thrumming through the air and feeling so wonderfully blank, watching the dance of the multicolored lights overhead, and without Xiaotian holding his hand to anchor him he was drifting further and further away.

Deeper and deeper out to sea.

It was then that he'd come to the realization that he liked it there. That he liked being able to sit there, and focus on nothing but the music, the lights, and the comfort. 

How easy it had been from there to just stop thinking entirely. His mind would always rush at such high speeds, darting from plan to plan, worry to worry, hope to hope, fear to fear. Being free from that for the first time had been so liberating. Having the towering inferno that was his mind dampen into low embers and for once truly know peace. 

How long he'd spent there, floating in that blissful nothing, he would never know, but he didn't care to know anyway. What mattered was that Xiaotian had appeared again, and when his calloused hand encompassed his own his world went from nothing to one thing. And it was so easy to focus on him that despite how much he already loved the song at the time, he'd still found Xiaotian's voice so clear and distinct it immediately captured his full attention.

_”Follow me.”_

His limbs had felt so heavy from not moving for however long he'd been there, but a sudden jolt of energy had prompted him to stand. The world was still so fuzzy and he still felt so empty, but Xiaotian, as he always was now, was a grounding force, and it was as easy as breathing to follow him when he pulled him in the direction of a room labeled 'employee's only'.

 _“Good Boy.”_

He remembered such a wave of delight crashing over him at Xiaotian's praise, and a very, very distant thought sighed that hearing that felt amazing. He still felt so lax and lethargic, but the simple joy had prompted a small smile, which Xiaotian easily returned.

From there his memory blanked entirely, it all faded to white and he woke up at home, surprisingly well rested and energized. But that was fine-

~~_”You'll never remember anything about back here. But that's fine, who cares? Not you._ ~~

-who cared? Not him.

Nowadays he was praised by Xiaotian far more casually, and while it was still delightful every time, he'd started to also find a strange sort of pleasure in the action of doing as asked as well. The pride of a job well done mixing with the knowledge that Xiaotian would be pleased with him making him eager to follow any direction. 

Always happy to ~~obeyobeyobey~~ assist. 

That's not to diminish the actual effect the praise would have on him of course, In fact the simple yet overwhelming joy at Xiaotian's approval was practically addictive in how wonderful it would make him feel in relation to how much he'd come to crave it. 

It felt even better than the scant positivity he'd glean from his parents! A hard earned soft word from either of his parents felt like a ripple in comparison to the sheer tidal wave of euphoria that Xiaotian provided with his own praise. It never ceased to make him grin like a fool for a solid few minutes after given. 

...His crush was probably a little out of control at this point, especially since Xiaotian was a little too married to the job to do more than what he already was, but there was nothing wrong with a little infatuation. 

Now, the second night, he remembered that one clearly. He'd been confused, irritated by what was at the time an inexcusably large gap in his memory—Such a drama queen he used to be, gaps in his memory of various sizes were so common now it wasn't even anything worth concerning himself over—and struggling to remember much of anything from after the second he'd entered the dance club the night previous. And when he'd come up with nothing he had resolved to return to investigate and glean some answers. Which of course was what he'd told himself to rationalize wanting to return anyway. 

It was a fond memory, the initial shock at the bouncer finding his name on 'the list' almost immediately and letting him inside without any of the resistance he'd put up the night previous, then came the pride at the idea that the puny humans around him were starting to respect his name. Though that pride had been misplaced, the real reason felt so obvious now that he felt embarrassed for not realizing it back then: He'd already surrendered himself to this place, whether he knew it at the time or not. 

That was why when another employee inside, near the bar section had asked his name, she'd had something on hand specifically for him. She'd looked nervous and told him 'the DJ' had these set out for him in specific. And at first he'd assumed they were noise mufflers, but upon taking the headset from the woman they were far more clearly simply an older looking pair of wireless headphones. He'd been skeptical, and convinced himself that since he was here to gather information he should wear them as to be more inconspicuous. Back then it was always so much easier to rationalize why he was doing things than it was to simply accept that he wanted to do them. 

That time he'd decided to stay in the background, to do nothing to draw attention to himself, and simply observe. So he sat on a stool near the bar and sipped at the same fruity cocktail for an hour or so, watching the dance floor with a wary eye. He hadn't forgotten his tip off though, and Xiaotian was there, acting as DJ as he was the night before. 

He always looked so handsome up there on his podium, right where he belonged, somehow larger than life with the lights blazing around him, and framed perfectly by the amps. That's why his favorite place to linger nowadays was right beside the podium, as close as he could get without interrupting Xiaotian's flow; but still perfectly able to admire him at the simple turn of his head. He looked so at home up there above him, in his element, powerful. And he was right below, just a quick step and a hop away, right at his side. 

Where he belonged. 

Always ready to help, his second in command—

~~Under his control.~~

But at the time the only thing he'd thought upon observing Xiaotian up at that podium was how unfair it was that his 'nemesis' had to be so good looking. 

He'd pressed a few buttons on the turntables infront of him, then leaned over to a laptop and clicked a button and with the slightest crackle, the headphones came to life. And he was reintroduced to that beautiful song again. This time with it right in his ear, without the reverberations of the rest of the dance club distorting the sound, he was getting the real full version and...

Almost instantly he drifted away. Just having enough time to think 'oh, I love this song' before floating off, like a switch had been flipped somewhere in his mind—and he was pretty sure that as an apt way to describe it, now that he'd felt it enough times—and had simply shut down his thought center. Leaving only feelings. The wonderful hollowness. 

At some point his head had dropped to the side, as by the time Xiaotian approached and took his attention his first observation was that the room had gone sideways, only to realize that it was in fact him that had gone sideways. His second observation was that whenever his head had tilted to the side his jaw had loosened, his mouth had been hanging open. Though he hadn't had the energy to be more than internally embarrassed, nor did he have any to attempt to fix either aberration. Nonetheless he was grateful when Xiaotian put a hand on his cheek and righted him. Both for the action and his touch. Though he'd grown used to it more, he'd never quite stopped being embarrassed when he'd done something while drifting in oblivion only to realize it later as Xiaotian corrected him. Though the extra care he'd take while correcting him from whatever it was made him feel so warm, so cared for, ~~So obedient,~~ So loved. 

Xiaotian had shifted his headphones a bit to partially uncover one of his ears, and his voice shook and bounced around his head as though it and the music were the only things inside. He was so empty they probably were. 

_“You enjoying yourself, Red?”_

Of course he was, what kind of question was that? 'Enjoyment' felt like such an understatement for the bliss that he drifted in. But he was far too out of it to try and relay that, so he settled on a simple 'yes'. 

Now with experience at his back it was more apparent how he really shouldn't even try to relay what he was actually feeling. He rarely had enough energy for more than monosyllabic answers when Xiaotian asked him questions while he was drifting, so there was no point in trying to push it. Besides, most of the time whatever he was asking could be answered with a simple yes or no. And most of the time it was a 'yes' anyway. ~~Never want to say 'no'~~

 _“Good, I'm glad”_ He was glad too _“You wanna feel even better?”_ He hadn't even been aware that that was possible, but who wouldn't want that? _“People come to dance clubs to dance, right? To have fun and let loose?”_ of course, there's no point in going to such a place without intention to participate. _“And you can't really remember why you came here, can you?”_ Now that he mentioned it... _“So that must mean you're probably here for the same reason everyone else is. You're here to...?”_

It all had made so much sense, like everything had clicked into place. The answer that now came so easily had been such a revelation when he'd had it laid out for him like that.

He remembered the delight on Xiaotian's face when he'd answered. He'd leaned in close and his whisper sent a shiver up his spine as he'd soaked in his words. He was actually a bit proud of himself that he'd learned to follow Xiaotian's lead so quickly, One would think his demon pride would have kept him from following anyone's instruction; but Xiaotian was just so easy to listen to his words could slip right past those defenses and burrow their way right in. As they should, because he was right most of the time anyway. He HAD wanted to let loose and have some fun that night. He just had convinced himself he hadn't earlier. His pride always convinced him of a lot of silly things that he wouldn't even realize were silly until Xiaotian broke them down for him.

That night was the first time he'd danced infront of others, and it had felt...amazing... Xiaotian had turned off the headphones, citing how 'his song' would be a little distracting in comparison to the music the club itself was blasting. And that was true, if he was so busy being blissfully empty he wouldn't have any wherewithal to let his inhibitions go and... 'porty' as it was so commonly mispronounced nowadays. A bit ridiculous, but he wasn't here to be the posh demon prince he was usually, and as they say, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'. 

He couldn't remember the exact length of time he'd spent simply letting loose and having fun, but it was approximately ten songs later that Xiaotian had flagged him down from where he was on the antigrav mat and asked if he'd like to join him while he was on his break.

He'd taken his hand when he'd asked it and though he'd had a wonderful time learning to dance in Zero G spending time with Xiaotian alone was far more appealing. So he'd let Xiaotian lead him into the Employee's Only room.

And then he'd woken up the next morning in bed, feeling content and rested, the only thing rattling around in his head as his brain hesitated to re-engage being that he'd like to return again that night, no rationalizing needed.

He'd also woken up with his nails painted. He'd been so confused, wondering when he'd even done them, and why he'd chosen five neon shades so his hands were symmetrical but every nail had a different color. Pink, green, yellow, blue, and purple. A splash of joy coursed through him at the cheerful shades, and he'd decided to keep it until it began to chip. ~~Neon is beautiful~~ Every time they caught his eye that day he felt a little happier than he was before.

Now they were nice to admire, but most everything here was nice to admire, neon was just such a lovely set of shades and he had no shortage of beauty here, his own appearance was simply one more thing to admire. There was just something so magical about those early days. When he'd just started to appreciate brighter colors as compared to the dark shades he'd spent what felt like his whole life steeped in. Like the windows of a dark room were opened for the first time in centuries to let some light in.

He hadn't even known how beautiful the light was until Xiaotian had yanked the curtains right off the hooks for him.

It made him all the more eager to return to the club every night. To easily slip on the headphones the lady inside had waiting for him—he'd always tell himself this time he'd be taking the comfortable headgear home with him, but every time he'd wake up without them—and catch Xiaotian's eye from his podium before getting settled somewhere comfortable and spending the first third or so of the night drifting in sweet oblivion. 

Every night's experience of bliss somehow always felt better than the last, even if something happened to him while he was under that was embarrassing. Like losing his glasses, or pitching so far to the side he'd nerely be half slid out of his seat by the time Xiaotian could spare a long enough moment to right him, or most mortifying, that one night where he'd come to and realized he'd been drooling, a wet spot on his collar and Xiaotian chuckling with amusement as he got his nice fuzzy coat dirty cleaning him up like he was a toddler. He'd been so embarrassed he'd nearly fully surfaced, But Xiaotian had praised him for listening so intently that he'd truly been lost in the melody, and he felt much better.

But honestly no matter how embarrassing being caught slobbering on himself like an imbecile was, he still loved that day best, because that was the day where Xiaotian had asked him how he really truly felt, and... he'd told him. 

He'd just simply HAD to say it, he'd been coming to the club for almost two weeks at the time. and with every visit he would feel his affection for his former enemy grow, and yes sure, for awhile there he'd been trying to stifle it in regards to the 'enemy' part of how their relationship had been until then, but every night he grew braver than he was before, and it had actually been that morning that he'd said it out loud to himself. He'd lingered in bed for longer than usual, admiring his nails, thinking on the parts of the night he could remember, the feelings, the sights, and he'd said it to himself.

And the sheer tidal wave of joy that had washed over him at those three simple words drowned out any and all doubts he'd ever had about it. It had to be true love, surely nothing else could make him feel so flooded with bliss that doubt and fear no longer had a place in his mind. 

So he'd told him.

And sure it didn't 'turn out' but Xiaotian wasn't disgusted at his feelings, nor did he even really reject him. 

_“We feel the same way, but I can't have a boyfriend, gotta put my time into the Porty, you understand. But hanging out together is just as good, right?” It was, oh how it was, even if it made his heart hurt and swell at once. ~~”But if you ever find another me-”~~_

And it was still so relieving to get it off his chest, so wonderful to say it out loud, that it was still fond to look back upon. 

Besides, even if they couldn't be 'together' together for the sake of keeping the porty alive, they were still able to be together. After waking him up from his bliss, Xiaotian would ask him to linger close by and enjoy the porty, so he was always right by Xiaotian's side when he was needed for the second third of the night. 

And though he couldn't remember most of the time they actually spent hanging out, they must be doing so for some time every night. Whenever Xiaotian would take a break and wink at him, and take his hand, they would spend the last third of the night behind the Employee's Only door together. He knew it had to be together. ~~Every time it happens it gets stronger~~

And when he'd wake up the next morning, it would be rested and happy, and more eager to return than he was the previous day. More uncaring than before about other things. His family was still in a lull as they waited on the connections they still had to get back to them on backup, So he didn't have as many projects as he used to. Most of the ones he did have were just things he'd been doing due to his own curiosity anyway. 

So his parents didn't really have as much to say about his going out as they would have if they were in the middle of a plan. Nor did his mother do much more than question if he was starting to go through an 'experimental' phase when he'd started changing up his appearance a little—nothing big! Mostly things easy to explain to her. 

The nails were yes, just something he'd decided he liked, but its not like they were noticeable. 

His hair, yes he had decided that there was no point in tying it up when approximately 90% of his projects were still in the theoretical phase, and the other 10% were all in the coding phase. He didn't NEED to tie it up so it shouldn't be an issue if he wears it down. ~~Xiaotian told him it looked better down~~

He was pretty sure neither of them even noticed that he'd started opting for a pair of black pants instead of his more classic purple, the purple pair were perfectly tailored sure, but the dark jeans he now wore were better. He liked how tight they were, though they were a struggle to get on, the way they hugged his body made him feel ~~sexy~~ confident. And sure they were harder to dance in but- ~~A butt this perfect deserves to be actually seen~~ He liked how they looked. He liked how HE looked in them.

The last alteration he could make without being too obvious was changing his undershirt from the long sleeved turtleneck he usually wore to a sleeveless one. His coat felt strange with no undershirt between his arms and the material, but when he took off his coat the trim yet powerful muscle he'd developed from centuries of moving around heavy machinery since there was heavy machinery to move around was visible to any who looked his way. ~~If you've got it, flaunt it. Don't you want to show off a little?~~

Then... at about the month mark, something was different. Everything had been normal at first, he'd strolled right in, slipped on his headphones and took off his coat to rest on the seat he normally found himself in, Got nice and settled, and signaled to Xiaotian that he was ready. But when the music came on....there was nothing. It was the same beautiful song he'd heard so many times, every beat and melody as it always was, but... it wasn't carrying him off, he wasn't drifting to oblivion. 

He'd been so upset at the idea that he'd somehow become desensitized to something he knew was so, so beautiful He'd nearly caused a scene. It took every ounce of self control he had to calmly walk up the DJ platform and urgently whisper to Xiaotian that something was wrong. 

He was on pins and needles for the next few minutes as Xiaotian scrambled to set up a playlist for the crowd and hop down. His hand wasn't an anchor point when he'd taken his. It was warm, and he still enjoyed the contact, but it was nothing as momentous as Xiaotian's hand holding his own usually was. Just a hand.

Somehow that scared him even more.

He quickly lead him into the 'Employee's Only' room, but he turned back to him and said... something... and for the first time he could remember being inside.

It was just a dressing room that doubled as a break room, two vanities with lightbulbs along the mirrors in one corner, an overflowing armoire filled with colorful porty clothes in another, a foldable table, a fridge and microwave setup in a mini kitchenette, and one somewhat lumpy looking moth eaten couch along the wall. Somehow he'd known he was most familiar with the couch than anything else in this room. 

It felt so wrong, to be back there and know what was hiding behind the door. To take one look at the couch and find himself too nervous and upset to be able to even sit down let alone relax. 

“So, Red. What's eatin' ya so bad?” Xiaotian's voice was clear and unconcerned, he'd taken off his pink sunglasses to turn them over in his hands, bored, put upon. Like it had to be something really bad or he was wasting his time.

And he remembered getting so tongue tied, the doubt and shame he thought he was free of in the club creeping into him. It felt so childish, to pull Xiaotian away from what he clearly loved doing for something like that. 

It had felt stupid.

He had felt stupid.

Xiaotian didn't even have enough time to entertain the idea of dating let alone drop what he was doing for something as petty as his music losing its effect on him. But still, Xiaotian had asked a question, and he had to answer it. ~~Never want to say 'no'~~. So he did his best.

He felt like such an idiot while stumbling over his words, trying to at once make clear what had happened while also downplaying how upset he actually was, in a last ditch attempt to save a little face. Xiaotian's approval and praise meant so much to him, the idea of letting him down was practically nightmare worthy.

He had felt so emotional, so embarrassed and afraid, and honestly still really upset about what bought him there in the first place. And really, he should have known better than to think Xiaotian had a cruel bone in his body.

“Baby calm down.” Xiaotian slid a strand of hair out of his face, before cupping his cheek in his hand. He leaned into the touch, still pleasant, still soft, but still without the mesmeric quality it should have. Yet he still felt his cheeks grow a bit warm at the nickname. “I'm so happy that you trust me enough to tell me about stuff like this.” 

The relief was so all encompassing he honestly didn't know what to do with himself until Xiaotian guided him toward the couch.

“So I think I might have an idea on how to fix this.” Xiaotian pulled away and he'd been far too desperate at the idea to fix the problem—to be able to return to blissful oblivion—to even bother questioning it. 

Xiaotian really did know what he needed better than he did. ~~he always does~~ As he'd pulled the aged record from a hidden pocket somewhere in his fuzzy coat and showed him one side. “This is the side with your song on it, but the other side has a track too. Says right here on the label though, 'will not work without permission'” Xiaotian pulled his sunglasses up to rest on his headband. “I can probably help you get what you want out of your song again, but you're gonna need to like... let me.”

He'd practically tripped over himself giving his approval. It was a little embarrassing how eager he'd been, but it all turned out for the best in the end. Xiaotian put the record on a more beat up looking player on the countertop in the kitchenette and...

He still felt lucid, even as the world gained that same fuzzy quality it had when he was on the verge of slipping to oblivion. It was... odd. He was so used to the oblivion his favorite song gave him, to be completely cognizant as the effect of the song took hold, was... strange. It was like everything had turned into a fog, and while he still COULD think, it was... muffled. 

_”You have to LET me take the reigns now, Red. Can't just have 'em taken like the first song was doing.”_ Xiaotian's voice felt like a spot of clarity in the fog. Not anywhere near as overwhelming as sinking normally was, but still similar enough. 

_“I know how much you love not thinking while your under, just focus on that feeling.”_ he knew the feeling well, It had been easy to conjure in his mind. Thinking becoming more and more difficult as the energy drained from him, the relaxation that took its place, the sheer bliss at being free of all anxieties and-

~~Blank empty mindless obey obey obey-~~

-Well, he shouldn't ruminate on the specifics of THAT too hard or he'd find himself drifting off on his own, and move on to what followed.

Xiaotian's words started as less of an encompassing force and more of a guiding path. He was showing him the way to go, but he still had to follow. Thankfully by then, following Xiaotian's lead had become second nature, so it was easy to allow what he was being lead through.

They had to build oblivion back from memory alone, so first went any remaining hesitation that had been hiding behind his desperation to return to the status quo, which was easy. Next came conscious thought, which was a bit more challenging. Xiaotian had ended up shifting the two of them until he was laying on the couch, his head resting in his lap. It was more intimate than anything he'd ever chanced with Xiaotian, and at first he was worried it would be distracting, but then he felt those deft fingers beginning to massage his temples and head and run gently through his hair and-

 _“Feels kinda like I'm massaging those pesky thoughts right out of your head, doesn't it?”_ and once that idea was in his head it didn't leave until he was unable to think at all. Finally finding oblivion.

It was all just feelings then, Xiaotian's voice had started taking on a quality he was more used to, rattling around his empty mind and leading him in the right direction ~~shaping him as he saw fit~~ pointing out things he hadn't realized until they were brought attention to.

Like how lovely neon as a shade was.

Or how much fun it was to dance infront of people.

How nice it felt to listen to Xiaotian's voice ~~how easy to obey how much he loved to obey~~

But most importantly:

 _“Every time you hear Your Favorite Song it will work as you want it to. Without fail it will bring your right into your 'blissful oblivion' Every. Time.”_

And with hindsight he knew it worked, while he could find oblivion in other avenues, nothing worked quite as thoroughly nor quite as fast as his song did.

He then heard whispering, but this part he couldn't remember exactly what was said.

~~_”You won't remember this-”_~~

But when he woke up it wasn't back at home, fully rested, he was still laying in the break room. Xiaotian was gone.

He remembered being distressed at waking up alone, but knowing he was certainly back up at the DJ podium, so he couldn't begrudge him; just the idea of being mad at Xiaotian made him feel a little sick. So he took a few extra moments to stretch and properly wake himself back up. Which had been thankful, as he'd seen a small note atop a small pile of clothes from the dressing room armoire. 

_'Boss says you're hired! Put on your uniform and come see me xoxo'_

He remembered being so excited at a job offer he hadn't even known he'd been given that he'd rushed to change into the offered garments the note had been set atop of. 

It was just a different shirt than the one he had on and some accessories. The shirt was still black, and still sleeveless, but it also had an exposed back—a halter top he'd later found out it was called—and upon putting it on he realized it also failed to properly cover his midriff, but that was hardly an issue. Most of his muscle mass was in his arms and legs, but he was hardly a slouch with his core. So he still cut a rather nice figure.

'If you've got it, flaunt it' after all. He couldn't remember where he'd heard that phrase, but he liked how he looked in the top so it applied. 

From there it had been fun to decide the best placement of the accessories. The glowsticks were in an arrangement of colors and sizes, so three of them had ended up around his neck, while the rest were worn as bracelets. There was a bright red pair of sunglasses to replace his normal pair, which he'd been concerned at first would become an issue since his glasses were prescription, but it wasn't like he needed to do much detail oriented work here anyway, so it was fine if the world remained a little blurry around the edges, 

Besides, the sunglasses in question were the same shutter-lens style that Xiaotian wore, and the idea of the two of them matching like that made him giddy. 

His favorite pair of headphones re-took their rightful place snugly over his ears. There was another belt to replace his basic one, this one one of those 'designed to look like a retro seatbelt' kinds, the belt itself done up in rainbow stripes. 

Finally there were a pair of arm mufflers. They weren't big and puffy like those dancer girls that wore fake cat ears would wear, but slim and they went no further than his elbows, so most of his muscle was still on display with the added benefit of making his hands look slender and elegant. And the black and white stripes the mufflers were done up in made the neon on his nails and wrists stand out even more.

For the first time he'd looked like he truly belonged there. He could have been any anonymous face in the crowd while the music was pumping. He hadn't even realized how much he'd wanted this until it was practically handed to him. He was so excited he'd had to restrain himself from running out the door and to the DJ Booth to get properly briefed on his duties as part of the club.

He'd been given the job of a sort of 'secret security guard' to be assumedly just another porty goer, but keep an eye on things to enforce the few rules they had to keep 'porty' from turning into 'chaos'. He was allowed to go out on the antigrav mat and dance for a bit if people started giving him looks, but he wanted to be close to Xiaotian, so he usually stayed by the DJ Booth. 

But other than that change, his life carried on as normal. He'd bide time with projects back home in the daytime—though every so often the craving for oblivion would hit him and since he didn't have Xiaotian's phone number ~~No contact between portys~~ he had to set an alarm on his phone, lock his workshop door, and try to put himself under, once he'd figured it out it was fun to play with ~~you go deeper every time~~ —and wait for either his parents to come in with something for them to actually DO in regards to these supposed allies of theirs, or until nightfall.

He'd arrive at the porty in his street clothes and change in the dressing room into his uniform. Then he'd revel in nothingness, Xiaotian always taking a quick break to pull him back out when it was time for his shift, to which he'd clock in and take up his post, and enjoy the atmosphere and keep an eye on the crowd before Xiaotian would inevitably hop down from the podium with a playlist taking up his post and pulling him to the antigrav mat so they could dance together. 

And he really enjoyed dancing alone here, but he absolutely loved dancing WITH someone. Especially if that someone was Xiaotian. Like in everything, he'd follow Xiaotian's lead and they'd harmonize without any hesitation. 

Sometimes when they danced together Xiaotian would lean in close and whisper a question to him, barely audible in the din of the music. Questions he'd never considered but the answers came naturally.

“Who do you belong to, Red?”

“...You.”

“Say it, please?”

“I belong to you.”

“Good boy.”

The idea of belonging to someone was something that would have raised his hackles and made him explode in rage just a few months ago, but now he understood himself far better than before. This was what he'd wanted, all along. Someone to just... take the reigns from him and let him be free from worry and fear and his own rushing mind. Someone he could trust to take care of him and do the thinking for him while he was floating in blissful nothing. 

Someone who he loved who loved him back.

Someone who could own his heart and mind and his entire being.

~~Someone to obey...~~

~~Obey... Obey...~~

~~Obey~~

And that someone was Xiaotian.

**Author's Note:**

> This is like one of the most fucked up fics I've ever written and i wrote a fic where a 12 year old girl got her arm ripped off in front of her horrified twin brother protecting him from a monster.
> 
> I may add another chapter or two depending on how my Flooding the Sky motivation drags me about
> 
> EDIT: Okay so I am going to continue this, but as a series of oneshots bc if i make this thing chaptered i'm gonna go off the deep end and it'll become another hyperfixation related mess like all my other failed multichaptered fics


End file.
